


Slowly and Surely Wins The Race

by vix_spes



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, HP: EWE, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-31
Updated: 2013-03-31
Packaged: 2017-12-07 03:07:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/743471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vix_spes/pseuds/vix_spes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The appearance of Draco and his son Scorpius at Hogwarts was always going to arouse interest but Ron would never have suspected that he would get this invested in the duo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Slowly and Surely Wins The Race

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt at the [Ron/Draco Fest](ron-draco-fest.livejournal.com). Beta-ed by the wonderful [isisanubis](isisanubis)

As the guests started to depart, the majority heading back to the Greengrass’ for the traditional wake, a few stopped briefly to talk to the new widower and offer their sympathies but were swiftly encouraged to move on by the blank look in his eyes as he stared at the crypt and the way that he clutched his young son close to him. It didn’t take long until the only people stood there with him were his parents and Severus Snape, Lucius and Narcissa flanking either side of Draco with Severus hovering in the background.  
  
Hesitantly, Narcissa stepped forward to place a hand on Draco’s shoulder, smiling slightly as the toddler in his arms smiled up at her. “Draco? Darling? We don’t have to go to the wake. We can just go back home, everyone will understand.”  
  
When she received no response, Narcissa sent a look towards her husband that quite clearly stated that he should say something. With a suitably cowed look, he did so; since the Battle of Hogwarts, Narcissa had taken a much firmer stance in regards to what happened in the Malfoy family.  
  
“Your mother’s right, but there are other things that you need to think about eventually. What are you going to do now, Draco? You’re more than welcome to move back into the Manor.”  
  
“Thank you Father, I think that we will, but only temporarily. I need to think about what is best for Scorpius and myself.” Momentarily ignoring his parents, Draco sought out the dark gaze of his godfather. “Have you found anybody to replace Madam Pince yet Severus?”  
  
“No, the position is still vacant. The Headmistress has agreed that Irma has a say in who is hired and she has proven to be rather hard to please so far.”  
  
“Do you think that they would consider me for the position?”  
  
“I believe that they would. I shall speak to the Headmistress upon my return and will inform you about the details.”  
  
“Thank you Severus, I appreciate it.” Draco nodded at his godfather and, ignoring the spluttered protests of his father, turned to say his silent final farewell to his wife. Lucius could protest all he wanted, but Draco was convinced that, should he get the position, Hogwarts was going to be the best place for he and Scorpius.  


(~*~)

  
Six weeks later, Draco looked around his new quarters with a small smile, the suite of rooms that he and Scorpius had been given being much bigger than he had expected. He was now the official Librarian of Hogwarts. He had been subjected to a fairly gruelling interview from Madam Pince but he had obviously met with her approval as well as that of the Headmistress. Irma had been adamant that she continue in the post until the end of the school year which was fine as it left Draco with a clear month and a half to familiarise himself with the library and its various different systems.  
  
His parents had been far from enamoured with his acceptance of the position - Lucius feeling that Draco would be much better served by a job at the Ministry or on the Board of Governors, while Narcissa was disappointed that her beloved son and grandson were leaving the manor. Draco had desperately needed the change though as he was starting to feel something of a side-show at work.  
  
His marriage to Astoria had been arranged by his parents and hers. The Greengrass’ hadn’t been known supporters of Voldemort and had been regarded as a neutral family, neither one of Voldemort’s supporters or one of Dumbledore’s. As such, when combined with their being a fairly wealthy Pureblood family, Lucius had seen a way to claw back the prestige of the Malfoy family.  
  
Everything had been carefully cultivated by Lucius.  
  
Draco had got a job at the Ministry, working in research and development, and he had married Astoria shortly after her twenty-first birthday. Draco felt that it was fairly safe to say that, while he had been attracted to her and while he had grown to love her, he had never been in love with Astoria. In fact, he was fairly certain that he had never been in love with anyone. Oh, he had been attracted to plenty of people, both male and female, and he had had his share of relationships but he had never been in love before and he certainly wasn’t in love with his wife. Still, he had done his duty and done what was expected of him. Within six months of their first wedding anniversary, Astoria had given birth to the latest scion of the Malfoy family; Scorpius Lucius Malfoy.  
  
Draco had fallen in love with him the minute that his son was placed in his arms and he had done his level best to be the father, the dad, to Scorpius that he had wanted as a child. Whenever he wasn’t at the Ministry, he spent all of his time with Scorpius, not particularly caring what Astoria did with her time. He knew that Astoria loved her son but she had no real interest in being a mother. While she did spend some time with Scorpius, she infinitely preferred spending time with her friends and the numerous lovers that she kept. Draco knew that she had her lovers and, as long as she kept them discreet, he couldn’t object to her seeking what he couldn’t give her elsewhere. It had worked well enough until it hadn’t, at which point Astoria was dead and Draco didn’t know how it had happened.  
  
“Daddy, Daddy, who’s the big man out there? What’s that splashing in the lake?”  
  
Draco dragged his thoughts out of the past and turned his attention to his son. Scorpius was bouncing on the window seat, eyes wide as they took in what he could see of the Hogwarts grounds. Then again, his eyes had practically been out on stalks ever since they had arrived at the school earlier that day. Wandering over, Draco pressed a quick hand to the small of Scorpius’ back to prevent him from falling backwards off the seat in his over-excitement.  
  
“That would be Hagrid, he’s the gamekeeper here and he also teaches Care of Magical Creatures. As for the lake, that’s probably the giant squid.”  
  
“A giant squid?! Can we go and have a look?” Scorpius had started bouncing again.  
  
Draco took a look over his shoulder at the amassed boxes that still needed unpacking and then turned back to his son’s upturned and eager face.  
  
“Come on then, I suppose that all of this can wait until we return.”  
  
“Thank you Daddy,” Scorpius flung his arms around Draco’s waist in a grateful hug.  
  
Yes, Draco liked to think that he was doing a good job at being a dad, at least where Scorpius was concerned. If the consequence of that was that he remained single until Scorpius was of age, then so be it.  


~*~

  
Ron watched with interest as Draco passed the door of the shop, his little blond mini-me carried in his arms to the nursery next door. He knew what had happened, hell the whole Wizarding world knew what had happened. It made the news when Astoria Greengrass, the wife of Draco Malfoy, was found dead in suspicious circumstances. Rumours had been rife, particularly vicious where Rita Skeeter was concerned, but the Malfoy’s and the Greengrass’ had closed ranks and refused to release any details in order to protect her widower and son. What Ron couldn’t understand was why they were at the nursery in Hogsmeade. After Astoria’s death, Draco had retreated from public sight until the last few weeks when he had reappeared in Hogsmeade twice a day dropping his son off and picking his son up from the nursery. To Ron, that implied that Draco was living somewhere nearby, but why would he have left Malfoy Manor? Ron would have assumed that the youngest scion of the Malfoy family would have been looked after at the manor by a nanny with his own private tutor. Then again, a lot of things had changed after the war.  
  
Take Ron for example. At this point in his life he had always assumed that he would be in the Auror Corps with Harry and engaged to Hermione. He hadn’t expected to be single and working in the joke shop that his brothers owned, even if it was as manager of the newest Weasleys’ Wizarding Wheezes. Following the near death of Fred during the Battle of Hogwarts, the Weasley family had closed ranks and done what they did best; took care of their own. Only when Fred insisted, did George leave his twin's side and return to the shop in Diagon Alley with all of the other traders. He couldn’t manage everything by himself though so, rather than have to go through the whole interview process, Ron stepped in to help.  
  
It was only supposed to be a temporary stop-gap but Ron somehow never quite got around to filling out the application to join the Auror Corps. So, while Harry joined the Aurors and Hermione went to the only British wizarding university, Ron worked at his brothers' shop and lived in the flat above. What surprised him was how much he enjoyed it and the different aspects of it all. Fred and George were the creative genius behind all of the products but Ron, with his mind for strategy, turned out to be the one with the head for business. He came up with the new marketing strategies, the profit margins, the accounts and everything else. It was Ron who came to the realisation that they had enough capital and a strong enough reputation to open a second WWW shop in Hogsmeade, to cater to the market that had been left when Zonko’s hadn’t reopened after the war. By the time that they had bought the old Zonko property and everything was in place, Fred was in a position to return to work and it was obvious to Ron that a decision was going to have to be made. Since Fred’s near death experience, the twins had stuck to each other like glue and there was no way that either of them would leave the other for long enough to start and open the new shop. So Ron volunteered.  
  
He had found himself with a brand new shop to set up and open, then run as well as keeping up with the business side of the company, and he relished the opportunity. Not least because it had finally seemed to give him a voice within his family, the chance to be something other than ‘the youngest son’. He’d managed to get the shop set up in record time, hire staff and the grand opening had been held just before the new year at Hogwarts started. Business was slow but steady during the week and then incredibly busy on the weekends due to Hogwarts students. Ron lived in a cosy little house on the outskirts of Hogsmeade so he could easily walk to the shop or walk home after a few drinks at Madam Rosmerta’s and he always received cheerful greetings from the other shop proprietors as he walked through the village. It wasn’t what he had envisaged for himself but all in all he was happy with his lot in life.

~*~

  
“RON!”  
  
Despite the noise in the Three Broomsticks caused by multiple conversations going on simultaneously, Hagrid’s bellow easily cut across the rest of the noise. Making his way across the room, he reached Hagrid’s side only to be swept into a breath-stealing bear hug that instantly took him back to being eleven years old.  
  
“Air! Hagrid, I can’t breathe!”  
  
“Sorry ‘bout that Ron. I always forget me own strength.”  
  
“No problem.” Ron turned as a pint glass was set in front of him and smiled at the proprietor, “Thanks Madam Rosmerta.”  
  
“Pleasure dear. How’s business going? It’s nice to have some new blood in the village.”  
  
“It’s good thanks. It’s better when Hogwarts has their Hogsmeade weekends but business is still steady enough.”  
  
“Well yer driving Filch crazy. Every week there’s a new item of yours on his list of banned products.”  
  
Ron grinned widely at that, “Then we’re obviously doing our jobs right. How is everything up at the castle?”  
  
Ron sat back and listened as Hagrid talked about the new first years, how strange it was that Ron, Harry and Hermione were no longer students and what he was planning on teaching in his Care of Magical Creatures lessons. It was at this point that Ron saw the perfect opportunity to try and find out about Malfoy.  
  
“Do you remember that first ever CoMC lesson that you taught? The one with Buckbeak?”  
  
“Yeh. Buckbeak really took to Harry. Malfoy not so much. Amazed he’s talkin’ ter me now.”  
  
There it was, the opening that Ron had been looking for. “So is Malfoy back at Hogwarts then?”  
  
“Yeh, him and little Scorpius. Draco’s taken over from Madam Pince. Why?”  
  
Ron resisted the urge to squirm like a first year under Hagrid’s gaze. “I’m just curious, that’s all. I see them walk past my shop five days a week and I couldn’t work out why they were in Hogsmeade.”  
  
“I don’t know if I should be telling yer things like this…”  
  
Ron took another draught of his pint and set it down again as he mulled over what he was going to say. “Look, not so long ago I would have agreed with you with you because yes, I hated him all through school but things change. People change. I think the war changed people a lot more than we can see. We nearly lost Fred and that was bad enough but Malfoy actually lost his wife and I can’t imagine how horrible that must be. Especially with Scorpius.”  
  
The thing was, once upon a time Ron might have revelled in the fact that something horrible had happened to Malfoy but he had meant what he said. The war had changed them all; it had certainly changed him. His words had obviously met with Hagrid’s approval because the grounds-keeper started talking again.  
  
“Professor Snape got him the interview but Madam Pince and the Headmistress interviewed him and gave him the job. Him and his son moved into the castle at the start of summer and we barely see them. They don’t even really come to meals in the Great Hall.”  
  
Hagrid then changed the subject to Harry and Hermione, Ron absent-mindedly answering his questions as he mulled over the new information, scant as it was, in his head. Annoyingly, the information hadn’t actually answered any of Ron’s questions, it had simply created more. Draco was an intriguing puzzle, one that Ron desperately wanted to solve.  


~*~

  
Ron looked up with surprise as the bell rang, signalling that someone had entered the shop but when he stuck his head out from the back room, there was nobody there and the bell hadn’t rung to signify anybody leaving either. Exiting the store-room fully, he moved around the counter and found his culprit immediately. Curled up in front of the Pygmy Puffs, his tear-stained face watching them in slight curiosity, was a familiar little blond child. He was more than a little surprised at seeing the toddler in his shop with no supervision but moved over regardless, kneeling down close to him but far enough away that he didn’t intimidate him.  
  
“Hello.” The little head spun around so fast Ron was concerned about whiplash. Rather than saying anything, he smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. “My name’s Ron and this is my shop. Do you think you could tell me your name?”  
  
“Scor-Scorpius Malfoy.”  
  
“Well it’s very nice to meet you Scorpius. Are you still supposed to be at nursery?”  
  
Ron really wasn’t prepared for Scorpius to burst into tears, the news that some of the other slightly older boys were being mean to him tumbling out of his mouth amidst sobs, hitching breaths and pleas for his daddy. Ron knew as a result of evenings down at the Three Broomsticks with Hagrid that Draco worked at Hogwarts and it would be easy enough to contact him so he came to a quick decision.  
  
“Okay Scorpius. How about I tell the nursery where you are then get your daddy to come and pick you up? Does that sound okay?” Ron didn’t know what he had been expecting but it certainly wasn’t for Scorpius to nod and then uncurl himself, only to wrap his arms around Ron’s neck so that Ron had no choice but to pick him up. Thank Merlin he was the youngest child and that his eldest brothers were already procreating so his actions didn’t feel completely alien, having had practice with his nieces. He propped Scorpius on his hip as he locked the shop and flipped the sign to ‘closed’ before walking into the backroom where he sat Scorpius at the table as he sent his patronus to Draco and floo-called the nursery. He had Scorpius sat at the table happily eating homemade cookies that Ron had been handed at the Burrow the previous weekend accompanied by the last bit of milk that Ron kept in the shop for making tea when there was a loud and frantic knocking at the shop door. Motioning for Scorpius to stay there, he went through to the shop to find a rather panicked and frantic Draco Malfoy banging on the door. In fact, Ron was fairly certain that he’d only ever seen that look on Draco’s face twice before; once in their third year when Hermione had punched him and then again in the Room of Requirement when they had been trying to escape from the Fiendfyre. As soon as he pulled open the door, Draco practically fell through it, words spilling from his mouth.  
  
“Weasley! I got your patronus. Where’s Scorpius?”  
  
Before Ron could respond, a white-blond blur shot past and flung itself into Draco’s arms, screeching “Daddy!” Ron then stood back and watched Draco Malfoy being a normal parent scolding their child, the kind of parent that Ron remembered his parents being. The kind of parent that he would never have expected Draco to be. Draco didn’t even complain about having cookie crumbs and a milk moustache rubbed over his pristine robes. Ron struggled to reconcile the devoted parent that he was seeing with the arrogant git that he knew from Hogwarts. He was still trying to reconcile the two different versions of Draco Malfoy when the man in question stood up, Scorpius in his arms, and held a hand out awkwardly.  
  
“Weasley … um, thank you. For looking after Scorpius and for calling me so quickly.”  
‘I didn’t think you would.’ The words were unspoken but they both knew they were there.  
  
“I did what anybody else would do. Scorpius is a child, never mind who his father is.” Ron risked a small smile and was rewarded with a small crack in Draco’s mask.  
  
“Still, thank you. Scorpius is my world.” Draco looked uncomfortable at having admitted something so personal and immediately jostled the small form in his arms until stormy grey eyes, exactly the same shade as Draco’s, were looking at Ron. “Say thank you to Mr Weasley.”  
  
“Thank you for the cookies Mr Ron.”  
  
“No problem Scorpius. I’m glad that you liked them.” Ron smiled warmly at the toddler. He had become inordinately fond of the nieces that he currently had and Scorpius had been a delightful child, chatting away to Ron as they waited for Draco, placated by the cookies and milk. “You can always come back and have more. Just as long as your daddy knows next time.”  
  
He was just quick enough to see the look of surprise in Draco’s eyes at the genuine offer. It was quickly covered up before Draco nodded and, with a final genuine and heartfelt albeit still hesitant thank you, Draco was walking out of the shop, Scorpius still cradled in his arms.  


~*~

  
After that meeting-come-rescue, every time that the Malfoys made the trip to the nursery and Ron was in the shop itself, he got a wave from Scorpius and a nod from Draco. Considering their volatile relationship in the past, Ron couldn’t help but be surprised by this. Then again, his current obsession with Draco was disturbingly similar to Harry’s obsession with the Slytherin during their sixth year. He couldn’t help but be intrigued though. Draco just fascinated him. Scorpius being part of the package wasn’t an issue either as Ron couldn’t help but love the little boy despite only having met him once.  
  
It took him a while, a rather embarrassingly long time but then Ron wasn’t ashamed to admit that, to realise that it wasn’t just intrigue that Ron felt where Draco was concerned; there was a fairly healthy amount of attraction there as well. That gave Ron pause for thought. Not because it was a bloke, although to be fair that threw him a bit, but mainly because it was Malfoy. MALFOY! The same guy that Ron had spent every opportunity during their Hogwarts years baiting and fighting and who had more than returned the favour. Ron supposed that he didn’t really have a problem with the fact that he was attracted to a man, after all this was the Wizarding world and far stranger things had happened. Homosexuality wasn’t hugely common in the Wizarding community but neither was it frowned upon. Besides, Ron was in a very fortunate position in that he was confident his parents would be happy with whoever he brought home, regardless of sex. Bringing home a Malfoy could be pushing things a little too much though.  
  
Thinking things through though, Ron couldn’t help but wonder if the Draco that he had known or seen at Hogwarts was the real Draco Malfoy. The Draco Malfoy that currently worked at Hogwarts. From his near weekly meetings at The Three Broomsticks with Hagrid not to mention the students that came into the shop, the picture that was being painted was that of a very different Draco to the one that he had been to school with. Everything that he heard was very complimentary and, he didn’t care who you were, but you couldn’t go through the death of your spouse and come out unchanged, regardless of if you were in love with them or not (Ron had heard some very interesting rumours). He had first-hand knowledge that Draco was a much more hands-on father than Ron would have expected and, despite his discomfort at the fact that he was being forced to talk to Ron out of necessity, Draco had been far more personable than he would have expected.  
  
The final straw came when Ron realised that he had woken up four nights in a row with sticky sheets, something that hadn’t happened since his late teens. The star of his nightly shows had been none other than Draco Malfoy. Growing older had been kind to the blond. He had filled out so that he wasn’t quite so skinny and his face had lost the pointy look of his teens. With his hair grown out slightly, there was no denying that Draco was a handsome man and Ron had registered that, whether subconsciously or not.  
To be perfectly frank, he was fucked.  


~*~

  
The sound of the bell ringing brought Ron in from the stockroom where he had been doing a check of what stock they had before he spoke to the twins that evening. Seeing the two blond heads stood just inside the shop he couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face, one that became even bigger as Scorpius turned and saw him.  
  
“Mr Ron!”  
  
“Weasley.”  
  
While Scorpius’ reaction was joyous and loud, Draco’s was much more restrained but still civil; one of the most civil responses that Ron had ever had from the man. Stepping out from behind the counter, Ron made his way across the floor until he was stood in front of the two of them.  
  
“Malfoy,” he nodded and then bent down so that he was on the same level as the toddler. “Hello Scorpius. How are you today?”  
  
“’m good. I’m spending my pocket money.”  
  
“Wow. That’s exciting. Do you know what you want to get?” Ron smiled as Scorpius looked around with wide eyes.  
  
“Noo,” even as he spoke Scorpius’ eyes didn’t stop roaming around the store.  
  
“Why don’t you go and have a look round and see if there’s anything that you like the look of while I talk to your daddy?”  
  
Ron rose to his feet again as Scorpius started to move around the shop, fingers wandering over things that he could reach while his eyes took in absolutely everything. There was an awkward pause while Ron tried to figure out what to say. He’d never been the most eloquent person and this was Draco Malfoy. One of them was going to have to try and make conversation though otherwise they would be stood in awkward silence until Scorpius decided what he wanted.  
  
“How’s everything going at Hogwarts? Must be strange working there.” Ron winced as Draco’s head snapped around so quickly it was amazing that it didn’t crack.  
  
“How do you know that I work at Hogwarts?”  
  
“Hogsmeade is a fairly small village Malfoy so gossip travels quickly. You’ve been seen in Hogsmeade a lot and, much as I love him, Hagrid isn’t that great at keeping his mouth shut even without a drink. It’s fairly common knowledge that you’re working as the new librarian, everyone’s just intrigued by why you’re working at Hogwarts and acting like a hermit.”  
  
“Well why are you working at your brothers’ shop in Hogsmeade and not working for the Auror Corps with your precious Potter?”  
  
“One of the twins was nearly killed during the war and I stepped in to fill his shoes for a while and then realised that I was good at business so I took on the running of the shop. That’s it.”  
  
Ron could feel Draco’s gaze on him but didn’t say anything further nor made a move to meet the mercurial gaze.  
  
“You’re not going to ask why I’m working at Hogwarts?”  
  
“I assume it’s something to do with your wife but, while I am curious, we spent seven years at school trying to kill each other so I’m not going to push.”  
  
Once again, Ron felt Draco’s gaze on him, this time accompanied by the sensation as though Draco was able to see beneath Ron’s skin to what he was really thinking, much the same feeling he had always had from Snape. Finally, Draco spoke.  
  
“You’ve changed Weasley.” Before Ron could respond Draco was talking again, this time to Scorpius. “Hurry up and make a decision Scorpius, Daddy has shopping that he needs to do as well.”  
  
“But your shopping’s boring.” Scorpius said dolefully.  
  
“Where do you need to go?” Ron asked Draco quietly.  
  
“Tomes and Scrolls, Scrivenshafts and Gladrags. Most of it is for Hogwarts but Gladrags is for Scorpius.”  
  
“If you don’t need him with you and you trust me why don’t you leave him with me? He can pick something out and mum’s sent some more cookies. It’ll be a lot quicker if you don’t have to worry about Scorpius. Completely up to you.”  
  
Once again, Ron was subjected to a scrutinising gaze.  
  
“Scorpius? How would you like to stay here with Mr Weasley while I do my shopping?”  
  
Scorpius’ face lit up. “Yes please, daddy!”  
  
“Okay, you behave yourself and I’m only a patronus away if you need me.”  
  
As he slipped out of the door, Draco could hear his son and Weasley very seriously debating the pros and cons of chocolate frogs vs. Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and what a trick wand could actually do. How had he got to this stage – where he would willingly leave his son with Ronald Weasley? _Who was looking rather attractive_ , his treacherous mind supplied for him.  


(~*~)

  
Those treacherous thoughts continued to plague Draco as he made his way around Hogsmeade completing his errands, much to his annoyance. Why was he suddenly noticing how attractive Weasley was? It was bad enough that Scorpius hadn’t managed to shut up about the former Gryffindor after Weasley had ‘saved’ him; Draco didn’t need to be finding him attractive now. It wasn’t that Draco had an issue with finding men attractive as he’d found men attractive in the past and had even shared a few furtive kisses and hand jobs with both Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott while they were students. It was the fact that it was a Weasley more than anything else. He was a Gryffindor, he was ginger and he was …. well, Draco supposed he wasn’t poor anymore. Still, it was hard to overcome years of preconceptions regardless of how much Weasley seemed to have changed.  
  
His preconceptions received another jolt when he returned to WWW and walked inside to discover Scorpius sat on the counter, cookie crumbs liberally surrounding his mouth, a half-drunk glass of milk by his side playing the children’s version of Exploding Snap (slightly tamer and less likely to singe your ears off) with Ron. Scorpius was talking a mile a minute which thoroughly surprised Draco. Normally, when they were at Hogwarts, Scorpius avoided talking to as many people as possible, especially the girls that seemed to flock to the library. As soon as they entered in their various packs, Scorpius would hide under Draco’s desk with his favourite books and not emerge until Draco assured him that it was safe. There were only three exceptions to his shyness excluding Draco himself and two of them still resided in Malfoy Manor. The other exception was Deputy Headmaster, Head of Slytherin and Potions Master Severus Snape. It had become one of the biggest shocks for the student body when they saw Professor Snape actually crack a smile with Mr Malfoy’s son sat in his lap. Draco himself knew that had he not grown up seeing a somewhat softer side of the formidable man, that he would also have had his doubts. What did surprise him was just how much Scorpius had opened up to the other man; Scorpius had known Severus Snape and his grandparents for his whole life whereas he had known Ron for barely any time at all.  
  
“DADDY!” Scorpius had heard the bell ring announcing Draco’s presence and, in his excitement, nearly fallen off the counter, only to be saved by the quick hands of Ron thankfully preventing Draco’s heart rate from going completely through the roof.  
  
“That wasn’t the best idea was it little man? Stay sitting there and you can show your daddy what you picked out.”  
  
“Yes Mr Ron. Sorry Daddy.”  
  
Draco watched in amazement as a few simple cautionary words had his son tamping down his enthusiasm, although he still babbled happily as he showed Draco what he had chosen, his face wreathed in smiles.  
  
“How are you so good with him?” Draco murmured sotto voce when Scorpius was once again occupied. “I’ve never seen him respond to anybody like that who wasn’t family.”  
  
“I’m the youngest of six brothers Malfoy. Two of those brothers are already married and have provided me with nieces and nephews. The rest of my siblings except for Charlie are all in serious relationships. I’m pretty good with children.”  
  
“Still, I’m … I’m, well I’m impressed.” Draco admitted grudgingly.  
  
There was a significant pause before Ron let out a bark of laughter. “How hard was it for you to admit that Malfoy?”  
  
“Not as much as you would think. I owe you a lot for the way that you’ve treated Scorpius. For the way you’ve treated me.” Draco’s lips quirked slightly. “You’ve changed Weasley.”  
  
Ron huffed slightly. “We’ve all changed Malfoy … about time I suppose.”  
  
The conversation was now starting to edge into awkward territory that Draco didn’t really want to deal with. Territory that he didn’t know how to deal with. At least not right now. Clearing his throat, he moved into action, chivvying Scorpius into action; making sure that he paid for his new toys with his pocket money and thanked Ron, Draco adding his own thanks as he ushered them out of the door. They were halfway back to the castle when Scorpius piped up.  
  
“Daddy, can we go and see Mr Ron again soon?”  
  
This was what Draco had been dreading and he paused for long enough that Scorpius tugged on his hand and repeated his question. Finally, Draco answered, deliberately not committing to anything. “I don’t know Scorpius. We’ll see what we can do.”  
  
Hopefully that would buy him a bit of time.  


~*~

  
It didn’t.  
  
Scorpius was completely enamoured with Ron Weasley. He insisted that he wanted to go into the shop at least once a week after he had been to nursery and he absolutely _had_ to go whenever he received his pocket money from his grandmother. Seeing the joy that Scorpius received from those short visits, Draco hadn’t the heart to refuse him, particularly as he had started to look forward to them in his own right. Draco had been surprised to find that he actually relished the developing friendship between himself and Ron.  
  
It was slow going and, at times, quite frankly awkward as they had a whole history to overcome but they were managing. In fact, they were more than managing. Draco had even found himself (and a very vocal Scorpius) missing Ron and their weekly meetings/chats when he took Scorpius back to the Manor for Christmas, much to the disapproval of Lucius. He couldn’t be completely certain but he suspected that Ron may have felt the same because when they returned in January there seemed to have been a shift in their interactions.  
  
Rather than just a few minutes of conversation, Ron would actually take time out from behind the counter to ply Scorpius with Molly Weasley’s cookies and milk while he chatted to Draco. This somehow morphed into Ron accompanying Draco and Scorpius as they carried out various errands around the village and then creating specific arrangements for having lunch together that could be arranged around Draco’s duties at Hogwarts.  


~*~

  
They went through nearly seven months of these ‘almost dates’ before Ron had finally had enough and decided to do something about it all. He waited until Scorpius was completely engrossed by the baby owls in Eeylops and then spoke up.  
  
“I was wondering if you’d like to go out to dinner on Saturday night? I can get us a table at the new place off Diagon Alley for eight o’clock if you’re interested … maybe you could get one of the prefects to look after the library for the evening?”  
  
“Okay, that sounds like a good idea. It won’t work with Scorpius though … he’s normally in bed by seven o’clock. Maybe we should think about a different time?”  
  
“Draco, I don’t think you understand what I’m trying to say to you.”  
  
Draco frowned. “Of course I understand what you’re trying to say, I’m not stupid. You’ve just asked us out to dinner and I’ve said that the timings won’t work because of Scorpius’ bedtime.”  
  
Ron resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “No Draco, I want to take you out for dinner. Not you and Scorpius, just you. You have a whole school up there; surely some of the Slytherin prefects would be willing to babysit for the evening. What about one of the teachers? Hell, what about Snape?”  
  
“That could work. Uncle Severus was always willing to look after me when I was a child on the rare occasions that my parents asked him and I’m sure that he would oblige me by looking after Scorpius.”  
  
There was an unnaturally long pause, during which Ron resisted the urge to fidget. He’d never really been the patient type. Finally, just when Ron couldn’t bear the silence anymore Draco spoke.  
  
“Are you sure about this? That you want to ….”  
  
“To what? Take you on a date?” Ron arched an eyebrow and resisted the urge to laugh as Draco looked as though he wanted to squirm. “I was under the impression that we had been semi-dating, we’ve just had a chaperone in the form of your son. Is the prospect of being alone with me really that scary?”  
  
He could see the second that his words hit home with Draco. “Of course it isn’t. Very well, if you’re sure that this is what you want then yes, I will go on a date with you.”  


~*~

  
**Epilogue…**  
  
Ron smiled at the sight of the Burrow rising in the distance and looked down as a small hand slipped into his to see Scorpius staring at the house in curiosity. He then lifted his gaze to look at Draco who was also staring at the Burrow, although his expression showed trepidation and nervousness rather than the disdain that Ron had always expected.  
  
“You ready for this?”  
  
“Not really. Have you warned your family that you’re bringing me?”  
  
“I’ve told them that I’m bringing you.”  
  
“I forgot that I was speaking to an idiotic Gryffindor so let me rephrase the question: did you tell your family that I was coming and in what capacity?”  
  
Ron rolled his eyes as Scorpius giggled at the two men. “No I didn’t tell them in what capacity I was bringing you _because we haven’t agreed on what capacity we’re seeing each other_. Does it really matter? They’ve agreed to let you in the house which would have been unimaginable however many years ago.”  
  
The thing was, everything that Ron was saying was the truth. It had been a year since Ron had first seen Draco taking Scorpius to nursery and things had progressed tremendously but they were in a strange kind of limbo at the moment. They had become friends but they weren’t just friends, there was something else there but they just hadn’t defined what that something else was. Despite that, Ron was fairly certain that he knew what he wanted it to be. Ron had never thought he would see the day that he would be attracted to a Malfoy let alone want a relationship with one yet that was the position that he found himself in. Although he supposed that several occasions that they’d spent together could technically be regarded as dates because while they consisted of the kind of activity that you did on a date, even though they had only kissed once, they hadn’t specified that they were dates at the time so he supposed they weren’t actually dates. He couldn’t put this off forever though otherwise they would still be stood there by the time night fell so he scooped Scorpius up onto his hip and gave Draco a little push in the middle of his back which earned him a half-hearted glare as they started down the familiar path to the Burrow.  
  
Draco attempted to protest when, instead of going and knocking at the front door, Ron directed them towards the back door and walked straight into the kitchen without waiting for a response, a wide smile crossing his face as he breathed in the scent of his childhood. This was completely alien to Draco, so different to the Manor. It was obvious that the kitchen was the hub of the Weasley’s home and Draco couldn’t help but look around in curiosity at the sight of Molly Weasley juggling a multitude of pots and pans, all the photos of smiling Weasleys decorating the walls not to mention the multitude of, quite frankly, hideous knick-knacks scattered around. He hung back as Ron was swept up in a huge hug by the familiar witch, the obvious love and affection in the gesture making Draco’s heart ache a little. He had always known that his parents loved him but they had never been demonstrative. He held his breath as she turned her attention to him, hands on her hips but what could have been a threatening gesture was assuaged by the friendly look on her face and the dripping spoon clenched in one hand.  
  
“Well now, who have we got here?”  
  
“Mum, I don’t think you’ve been properly introduced before. This is Draco Malfoy and his son Scorpius. Draco’s the new librarian at Hogwarts and he’s um…”  
  
“I’m Ron’s boyfriend.”


End file.
